Cabinet’s pledge of $20 billion in long-term funding for renewable energy must avoid costly mistakes that saw Ontarians pay billions too much for renewable power, says an energy consultant. One Ontario program guaranteed rooftop solar panel owners more than ten times the retail price for electricity: "Don't let this happen to you".
Transport Canada next month will complete a year-long study of mandatory audio and video recorders in all railway locomotives, says a senior official. The research followed a fatal 2012 VIA Rail derailment that killed three crewmen: 'We will make a recommendation'.
New federal funding for immunization programs should include tracking data on actual vaccination rates, says the Canadian Medical Association. Cabinet’s 2016 budget promises $25 million in new five-year grants: "No one is keeping track of this".
The tentative Trans-Pacific Partnership offers negligible trade benefits at the expense of foreign reach over intellectual property, former BlackBerry CEO Jim Balsillie has told the Senate trade committee. The testimony follows sharp criticism of the pact by Unifor and Ford Motor Co. of Canada: "We keep getting fooled in these agreements".
The Canada Border Services Agency is faulted for “outrageous” misconduct by senators pressing for new oversight of the customs service. A Senate bill would see appointment of an inspector general to investigate complaints at the Agency: "The pendulum has swung too far".
Thousands of employees at 60 of Canada’s smallest federally-regulated airports face RCMP background checks under new security measures. Similar regulations at larger airports have seen employees fired without charge or trial for public marijuana use or consorting with alleged criminals: 'Vulnerabilities could be exploited'.
A 2016 budget pledge of $200 million to clean up contaminated mines and industrial sites is a fraction of funds needed, say advocates. Remediation costs nationwide are put at more than $4.7 billion, according to a Finance Canada memo earlier obtained through Access To Information: "Costs are revised, generally upwards".
The sponsor of a Senate bill to repeal property requirements for appointees says the initiative isn’t personal. Senator Dennis Patterson was ordered to repay $950-an hour legal fees he billed the Senate to clarify his own qualifications for appointment in 2009: "I'm not going to be a senator forever".
Easter greetings to our friends and subscribers. Blacklock's pauses for today's federal holiday, and will return tomorrow -- The Editor
Government lawyers do not have a constitutional right to golf weekend getaways, says the Federal Court of Appeal. The ruling ends a six-year battle by attorneys who complained that being on call the occasional Saturday breached their Charter rights: 'There is no right to do as you please in all circumstances'.
A private bill mandating prominent labeling of added sugar in baby food, yoghurt and all other processed foods has been re-introduced in the Commons. It follows a Senate committee warning of an “obesity crisis” in Canada with per capita sugar consumption now at 151 pounds a year: 'Ethically it is hard to oppose this'.
MPs have voted in principle to comply with a Supreme Court order sanctioning a union in the RCMP. One MP, a former Mountie, lamented the passing of police traditions under the bill permitting collective bargaining: “Things have gone down drastically”.
Air Canada is free to send maintenance jobs to the U.S. under cabinet amendments to a 1988 Act that privatized the airline. The changes follow a 2015 ruling by a Québec judge that Air Canada broke the law in transferring jobs to Duluth, Minnesota: "It's unbelievable".
Cabinet’s promised repeal of a bill sanctioning secret borrowing is winning praise in the Senate. The 2016 budget pledges to “enhance transparency” in federal spending: “That’s exciting”.
Environment Canada is being pressed to calculate the per capita cost of any carbon tax. Cabinet in its 2016 budget said carbon pricing “will be a key element” in reducing greenhouse gas emissions: "We need to let the people of Canada know".
